Recent publications
Another WA budget, another surplus, but budget risks growing
"The forecast of a WA budget surplus would, if realised, represent a significant achievement during difficult economic times," said Ms Julie Novak, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, a free market think tank. "While the 2012-13...
BHP chairman confirms ANDEV warning on Australian mining
BHP Billiton Chairman Jac Nasser has confirmed what Australians for Northern Development and Economic Vision has been saying for over eighteen months, according to John Shipp, Director of the ANDEV/IPA North Australia Project. At an Australian...
Think tank welcomes gas exploration expansion
The ANDEV/IPA North Australia Project has welcomed today's expansion of the petroleum exploration zone. Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson today announced that the zone will be expanded off four states and the Northern Territory. New...
Budget overspending threatens shaky surplus assumptions
The Gillard government's predicted Budget surplus is threatened by the dual pressures of a weak economy and continuing spending growth, according to an analysis of the 2012 13 federal Budget by free market think tank the Institute of Public...
$5.4 Billion Defence cuts put Australia's North at risk
The defence cuts outlined in last night's federal Budget put at serious risk Australia's northern economic and strategic interests, according to John Shipp, Director of the IPA/ANDEV North Australia Project. "Everyone agrees we now need more...
Rising costs putting resources projects at risk
Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese's claim that capital costs in the coal mining sector have risen 50 per cent over the past four years rings serious alarm bells for the Australian economy. Jobs and investment will move overseas if the government doesn't...
Victoria's budget standstill as debt continues to mount
The Victorian government has today released a 'steady as she goes' budget which does not address the core challenge of restraining the size of government, according to free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. In response to a fiscal...
Nanny state taxes: bigger than the carbon tax and mining tax combined
Nanny State taxes raised $13 billion in 2010-11, according to a new study by freemarket think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, Nanny State Taxes on Consumer Products: Soaking the Poor in 2012. This is greater than the combined revenue...
Carbon tax unconstitutional: legal opinion
‘The carbon tax is unconstitutional according to a legal opinion from expert, Bryan Pape, commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs and reported in the Australian Financial Review this morning', said Tim Wilson, Climate Change Policy...
An economists' guide to life
If Ian Harper had been American instead of an Australian, and if he been a professor at the University of Chicago instead of the Melbourne Business School, Economics for Life would have been a hit on The New York Times bestseller list. As it is,...